Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and other Democrats used a Thursday confirmation hearing for deputy commerce secretary nominee Paul Dabbar to restate their concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to the Commerce Department doling out appropriated broadband and semiconductor funding. Cantwell and Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also emphasized their diverging views on repurposing DOD airwaves for commercial 5G use, an issue that’s been a major sticking point in negotiations to include a spectrum title in a coming GOP-sought budget reconciliation package (see 2504180027).

Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.

CTIA expressed support for a possible auction of upper C-band spectrum, though broadcasters, aviation companies and some commenters were more skeptical, warning of harmful interference with other operations, among comments that were due Tuesday on the upper C-band notice of inquiry, which the FCC approved in February (see 2502280032). It explores the 3.98-4.2 GHz band's future.

The private sector can't take all the responsibility for safeguarding against and responding to major cybersecurity events like the Salt Typhoon data hack of communications networks, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee members heard Wednesday. Putting Salt Typhoon blame solely on industry ignores the government's failure to share information with the private sector, Technology Industry Association CEO David Stehlin said during the roughly 2.5-hour hearing about protecting communications infrastructure. The session also saw communications and national security experts lay out a variety of recommendations for improving U.S. communications network security, from uniform ways to report cyber incidents to actually punishing nations that tamper with U.S. subsea cables.

What will come out of the FCC’s “Delete” proceeding is hard to say at this point, since it builds on other FCC efforts to cut regulations, experts said during a webinar Wednesday by the Center for Business and Public Policy at Georgetown University. The FCC has logged more than 1,100 comments so far in docket 25-133, with replies due this week (see 2504290054 and 2504290038).

The FCC will consider rules growing out of last year’s “bad lab” NPRM during the commission’s May 22 meeting, Chairman Brendan Carr said Wednesday. Also on the agenda are foreign-ownership rules and an NPRM about spectrum for satellite broadband. Drafts will be posted Thursday.

The Senate Commerce Committee advanced Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty on a bipartisan vote Wednesday, as expected (see 2504290058), but Democrats made clear they won't allow a smooth confirmation process on the floor unless the Trump administration commits to picking a party-affiliated candidate to replace retiring Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and five other panel Democrats voted for Trusty on Wednesday, even as misgivings about Starks' replacement and the FCC's independence during the Trump administration led seven caucus members to vote against the nominee.

Several industry and consumer advocacy groups asked the California Public Utilities Commission to establish streamlined rules and ensure consumer protection as it considers revisions to technical regulations concerning the commission's facilities for interconnected VoIP service providers. In comments posted Tuesday (docket R2208008), some said they intend to participate in the CPUC's May 28 workshop to further discuss definitions of such facilities. Some also raised concerns about the commission's apparent direction toward providers operating in small independent local exchange carrier (ILEC) territories.

Some FCC rules targeted for the deregulatory ax under the agency’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding were defended in reply comments, according to filings this week in docket 25-133, where replies were due Monday. The proceeding saw legions of initial commenters mentioning regulations from all corners of the communications regulation sphere (see 2504140063, 2504140046 and 2504140037). Replies were similarly active and far-reaching.

The GPS Innovation Alliance and Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation (RNTF) urged the FCC to take a broad view of the complementary technologies that can provide positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) as a GPS alternative. NTIA supported PNT diversity, while other commenters continued arguments over NextNav’s proposal to use the 902-928 MHz band for a “terrestrial complement” to GPS (see 2504280045). Initial comments were due Monday on an FCC notice of inquiry.